Biographical Note
Present-day Guinea came under the protection of France in 1881, a year after the creation of the first map in this collection. It detached from Senegal to become a separate colony in 1890, then joined the Federation of French West Africa in 1895 as French Guinea. Beginning in 1946, under the constitution of the French Fourth Republic, a small population of French Guineans were allowed to vote for deputies to the French National Assembly. In 1958, Guinea became independent as a result of a referendum and elected Sékou Touré as its first president.
During Touré's nearly three-decade reign as president, Guinea experienced persistent economic and political instability as it attempted to make economic and trade agreements with Russia and China, but eventually turned to France and the West when it failed to become a full economic partner of the Soviet bloc. Guinea descended into political and social repression. Touré's political party, the Democratic Party of Guinea, was overthrown in a popular military coup in 1984 after his death.
Sources
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. "Guinea." Accessed June 21, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/place/Guinea.